Conor Fynes 'Секененра' - Senmuth (6/10)

I must say, while I might not have believed it while listening to the saturated heaviness of Senmuth's earliest work, I did miss the heavier Senmuth. After this Russian project went down a more mellow and ambient path, new doors were certainly opened in terms of the things that Senmuth could do with his music, but the energy seemed to escape. Years later, Senmuth has really polished many aspects of his execution and production, lending a much more effective metal sound than would be possible earlier on. While 'Секененра' lacks an epic sense of songwriting, it does make up for it with a grand, fully realized sound. Flaws aside, this is some of the heaviest music Senmuth has ever dished out.

Back are the vocals of Senmuth himself; a voice we rarely hear much in the music since he phased it out with the rest of the industrial metal craze that dominated his early material under the name. Senmuth can be described here as merging his Egyptian-themed ambient work and dark metal sensibility very well to make an epic symphonic display. While Senmuth generally uses artificial instruments (instead opting for computer emulation sounds) the orchestral tones are very well used, and at times even have the same effect a real orchestra might have. There's still however, a great deal of the music where the listener can certainly tell that not everything they are listening to has been performed by a human being.

The guitar work here generally consists of large power chords; nothing Senmuth plays here demonstrates a superb sense of musicianship. In terms of the production and execution of 'Секененра,' the real highlight lies in the sheer amount of detail to sound Senmuth has put into it. While anyone might assume that a man releasing so many albums in such little time would not give his music such consideration, but Senmuth is sure to include small nuances that don't reveal themselves until after a few listens. For example, the haunting percussive interlude 'Hqa xAswt' has some subtle female vocal work stirring around in the background, giving the mental picture of a swirling Middle-Eastern bazaar.

The only real issue with the album is the lack of quality guitar riffs, which does unfortunately have quite an impact on the album's strength. That aside however, this is quite a well done album, Senmuth has shown here that he has honed his craft to the point where most of the production issues are gone, and petty problems have been solved over time. With a little more technical complexity thrown into the guitar work, Senmuth may very well create an amazing metal album with his talents.

J-Man Entering into the world of Senmuth can be quite intimidating for any new listener. The combination of his gigantic (and growing) discography, an Egyptian-influenced homepage, and occasionally Russian album titles can be enough to make most people run to the hills before experiencing any of the mans wonderful music. Picking an album out of his discography is just about as random as a game of pin the tail on the donkey, considering the fact that hes released somewhere in the 90 album range within the last six years. If you think Im joking, check out his website and youll be surprised. All of his albums are available for free, so choosing which release to download first can be quite a challenge. Although Секененра isnt the first album I heard by Senmuth, it is the first album in his discography that I truly gave a lot of attention to. Ive heard many more Senmuth albums by now, and its pretty safe to consider Секененра among his best. This is a very heavy, dark, and industrial journey that should appeal to fans of Senmuths unique ethnic take on metal.

In the last year Senmuth has released more and more ambient albums, but Секененра is very far from that. This is a heavy album with a strong emphasis on dark and haunting atmospheres. There is a distinct Egyptian influence in Senmuths music, and that even creeps its way in along with the growled vocals and metal atmospheres. Songs like Под знаменами Тэтишери especially highlight the seamless meld between ethnic music and industrial metal. It is Senmuths ambitious attitude on this album that really sets it apart from many of its companions. Although this is still a somewhat flawed album, I can really see fans of industrial metal enjoying Секененра. Compositionally, this album is a bit middle-of-the-road. There are some jaw-dropping moments, and then there are a handful of parts where my mind wanders a bit. Theres a bit of filler, but I think that, in the end, the positive moments far outweigh the negative ones. Of course, the musicianship is great from this one-man-act. Although it occasionally sounds a bit sterile, there is plenty of life in the more symphonic sections. Just listen to a song Секененра Taa II, which is extremely inspired and is often beautiful. A few more guitar solos wouldve been nice (when they are present, they are excellent), but its not a major detriment or anything.

The production is wonderful. It has a heavy emphasis on power and atmosphere, and the mix sounds terrific. Although the programmed drums may turn off some people, this is one of the few cases where I think they sound great.

Секененра is a really good album by Senmuth, and is surely among the better releases in his massive discography. If you like industrial metal with that touch of Egyptian and ethnic music that Senmuth is know for, I highly recommend downloading this from his homepage. I'll go with a 3.5 star rating for this one. It really is amazing how much high-quality music Senmuth can release in such a short amount of time, and Секененра is further proof of that. This is a good entry point into the newer releases from the worlds most prolific composer.